“Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Mk 11:9)
For the Jewish people the story of the Triumphal Entry, as we call it, is a story of misplaced and disappointed expectations. The Jews were looking for one thing and Jesus was another. They expected and wanted so badly a political rescuer and Jesus was a spiritual liberator.
But the problem with their expectations is that they were hoping for one thing and the reality is another.
The people wanted Jesus on their own terms, and they would not bow to a King who was not of their liking, even though He is the Son of God. They wanted Jesus to destroy Rome but not their cherished sins or their hypocritical, superficial religion. But He would not deliver them on their terms, and they would not be delivered on His. He was not a Messiah who came to offer a panacea of external peace in the world but to offer the infinitely greater blessing of internal peace with God.
How about us? What kind of Jesus are you looking for? We have this picture in our mind and the reality is something entirely different.
Some today are looking for a father figure we never had. Some of us are looking for a friend who understands and who will stand with us.
Some of us here are looking for a counsellor, someone who can dive deep into the complexities of our lives, understand us and give us three easy steps to recovery.
Some of us are looking for a national leader. We’re so sick of politics and politicians. We see the nation degenerating in wickedness, and if only the nation would go back to the Bible.
These may involve a good desire, but it is a short-sighted one.
At the deepest level of our hearts the Jesus we are looking for is a Saviour who can free us from our sin and the guilt that goes along with it. If you strip everything else away, the Jesus we really crave is one who can lift the burden of sin that we were both born into and live under daily and nail it to the cross.
For us the story of the Triumphal Entry is a story of the greatest significance – for indeed the Saviour-King has come.